FROM FLORENCE, WITH LOVE
Wed 18 Jan
Words Luke Leitch
Ahead of transporting her world to Pitti Uomo, Martine Rose sits down with Vogue contributor and writer-at-large Luke Leitch as we uncover what the move means from a culture, community, and commercial point of view.
Raf Simons, Rick Owens, Undercover, Craig Green, Off-White, JW Anderson, Grace Wales Bonner and more: when it comes to curating its “Guest Designer” shows, Pitti Uomo consistently attracts the most interesting and influential creators in the menswear universe. At Pitti’s 103rd edition this January another no less stellar name will be added to that pantheon: Martine Rose. We checked in with the long-cherished London designer, who founded her label in 2007, as she prepared to decamp from her studio in Finsbury Park to Florence.
Congrats on being the Guest Designer at Pitti Uomo’s 103rd edition. How has the process of prepping for the show and transporting the Martine Rose experience been?
Thanks! When we got invited the reaction was, first and foremost: “This is a huge honour”. And then it was: “Whoa: how do we do this?”. Because, and I couldn’t quite believe this, I have never done a show outside of the UK. So your very good question was how do we transport what we do here - how does it travel? What does it mean doing it somewhere else?
What we have always done [in London] is interact with the city… The shows have been about taking over a space - a space that is embedded in a community in some way. So I knew that I needed those elements. I didn't want to go to Pitti and just use it as a beautiful backdrop - even if Florence is so beautiful. But I wanted to find a way to translate that message that we have here, over there.
Is that tricky?
It’s something I can do much more easily in London because I know it so well. I know all London’s little nooks and crannies, the different communities and their resonances - all of that. So it’s been an interesting challenge to understand Florence. Because it is like every other city; there is a tourist version of the city and then there is the living, breathing, real version of the city. So - without giving too much away - that is what I have worked to do.
Another aspect to translate from the UK are your references, a lot of which often refer to your own Londoner’s cultural lived experience…
It’s true that a lot of my references do feel UK-centric. But then a lot of them just reference culture, and culture transcends borders. So there is always something to relate to on some level. I’m always interested in how the shows and collections resonate in, say, Turkey - do you know what I mean? What does it mean when it is transported?
“There is a tourist version of the city and then there is the living, breathing, real version of the city.”
Martine Rose
Because fashion is a language whose accent and grammar changes depending on location and context - it works everywhere, differently.
It’s one of the purest expressions, isn’t it? Because it’s so intimate. Clothes are the closest thing to you; a means of communication of who you are, what you believe and what you stand for. I guess it seems obvious that of course, fashion would transcend because everyone can relate to clothes, but I don't know: it's really layered. I find it endlessly fascinating.
Thank God for an industry that is endlessly fascinating! Another shift this season will be how closely you must have worked with the team at Pitti. Because you’ve often worked outside formal fashion weeks in a more guerilla, independent way…
Without wanting to sound corny or cheesy, Pitti and its team have been incredible. They know their stuff. They are excited and engaged and helpful but they are also hands off when it counts. They know when to step back and not to try and micromanage.
What drives your optimism and what makes you optimistic about tomorrow?
I am kind of optimistic by nature. And I think it is related to something my friend said to me the other day. We were talking about various challenges of organising this show and she said: ‘Oh I couldn’t sleep last night’. And I was like: ‘Really? I’m not really stressed like that.’ She replied: ‘That's because you do not think about tomorrow.’ And generally, that’s true. For better or for worse I am not a planner. I focus on today. So maybe that’s an element of my optimism. Plus I love what I do. And as long as I’m feeling it, then I’m alright with that. I don’t have nebulous, dark fears about the future, or stuff I can’t control. Another aspect of loving what I do is related to the fact that I love people. There is an endless opportunity to invite people into this world that we create. And I find that really optimistic. Plus, I’m a really curious, nosy person!